NIA's prosecutor Ahmed Khan, however, submitted that the NIA Act has overriding effect and it was a special law.
He also said that the special cell was duty bound to inform NIA after arresting the accused.
Advocate M S Khan, who appeared for Akhtar and Waqas, told the court that his clients were in custody of the special cell for the last 10 days but the police was not saying what they have done during this period.
The special cell, however, said they are yet to arrest some more wanted accused persons, including IM's co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal, and for that they need sustained custodial interrogation of these accused.
Besides Akhtar and Waqas, Mohd Maroof, Wakar Azhar and Mohd Saqib Ansari were also produced before the court.
The court, after hearing the arguments, reserved its order for the post lunch session.
Akhtar was arrested from near Kakarvitta Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district of West Bengal on March 25.
Pakistan national Waqas was arrested outside Ajmer Railway Station on March 22 and his three associates— Mahruf, Azhar, both residents of Jaipur, and Ansari, a resident of Jodhpur, were arrested by the police on March 23 and thereafter brought to Delhi.
The special cell had recently filed charge sheet against IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar in the illegal arms factory case alleging that huge quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered from there.
The police had earlier filed its charge sheet against 16 accused, including alleged IM operative Quateel Siddiqui who had died inside Pune's Yerawada central jail in June 8, 2012.
